the lower portion of that one-piece pg has pretty drastically different hole lineup than the pg/control plate setup from any other Jazz year. herein lies the issue with the drill/plate+pg mod vs keeping a one-piece pg. The control plate + pg definitely a better look to it. one-piece pg looks kinda cheap to me
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Replacing a 1983 Fender Jazz Pickguard.
- Thread starter jamzcl
- Start date
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- fender fender jazz jazz bass
damn. cant seem to get them in here at a reasonable size. but if you search sienna burst jazz you can see the difference in the hole config. makes those one-piece pg hard to work with!
Unless someone goes Jaco on it down the road and pulls the pickguard, the extra holes are essentially a non issue. They will usually be covered by a pickguard or control plate. The only one who will care is some ultra picky collector 30 years from now, which could happen since this particular 83 Sienna is soooo clean. I have no problem drilling extra holes or filling and redrilling holes and such on player's grade basses.
Maybe you can buy the two separate piece pick guards and then just screw the screws into just the holes that match up?
Or maybe one of this one piece p/g's, then just use the holes that line up; it's worth a shot! That era bass is pretty rare, compared to all the other years made I guess... : )
I have seen these 83s modded, it’s been a decade ago, but if memory serves there is no going back and there will be witness lines both ways.
IE the chrome plate will mark the body but the outline and screw holes would not be totally covered by the plastic pickguard. But I also think there will be visible remnants of the full plastic pickguard going the other way to the chrome plate setup also.
I’m pretty sure you’re stuck with it as is. Even custom made parts to match the 83 pickguard outline may not look “right” because it’ll be slightly different shape than a typical jazz.
The weird 83 strats and Jazzes are a relative ‘bargain’ because you can’t really mod them to be “regular”, and a lot of people can’t live with them as is.
IE the chrome plate will mark the body but the outline and screw holes would not be totally covered by the plastic pickguard. But I also think there will be visible remnants of the full plastic pickguard going the other way to the chrome plate setup also.
I’m pretty sure you’re stuck with it as is. Even custom made parts to match the 83 pickguard outline may not look “right” because it’ll be slightly different shape than a typical jazz.
The weird 83 strats and Jazzes are a relative ‘bargain’ because you can’t really mod them to be “regular”, and a lot of people can’t live with them as is.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
When I think collectible Fender, I think pre-CBS. Yeah, some early 70s still have some value (ironically), but an 80s model is the same as a newer one - it's a bass.
The 1983 Precision and Jazz are one-offs (style-wise) and they play and sound amazing. The necks feel great and they are quiet. Since they are a Fullerton made-bass they have slight higher collectability than a general US bass. I feel they are great basses that are VERY under-rated (Like the 1982 Bullet Bass) The 1983 reissues are the big collectables... ironically, they had the same necks in Maple. I think the general look is the biggest detractor here.
